Case Study: Migrant Mother

Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange is a photo that has been to referred to time and time again as a classical example of American Photography. Coinciding with the case study, I recognized this image as soon as I saw it, but I could not for the life of me recall the author. It is clear why this image has echoed through the decades. The woman is viewed as a symbol larger than the actuality in which she exists. She appears to be the icon of hardship. "We were after the truth...not just making effective pictures."As though without effort, Lange captured the raw emotion and hardship that this woman and her family, one of the many who were enduring this period. I find myself relating to Heyman's statement, which says that the subjects of Lange's photographs are 'figures in history whose hardship the present viewer is incapable of healing.' To the point where she was eating frozen vegetables and birds her children killed to selling the tires off of the car in order to purchase food. These photographs attempted to capture the human condition during the economic crisis. What I found astounding was that these photographs were meant to document and record the position of the rural poor. As the photographers were not drones, they could not help but convey emotion in each frame.